AMC Player of the Year Heatherington leads 2011-12 All-AMC honorees

PITTSBURGH – Point Park University junior point guard T.J. Heatherington was named the 2011-12 American Mideast Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Year and All-AMC First Team with the announcement of the league honors on Thursday (March 1).

Heatherington, a 5-10 point guard from McKeesport, Pa., and Serra Catholic High School, led the NAIA Division II in scoring at 24.5 ppg and was fourth nationally with 6.2 assists per game.

Heatherington was the leading vote-getter on the five-person All-AMC First Team. He was All-AMC Second Team as a freshman. He recovered from a knee injury that forced in to miss the final 13 games of his sophomore season.

Also getting league honors was senior forward Devon Alexander, a 6-5 forward who was named All-AMC Honorable Mention. The McKeesport, Pa., native and McKeesport grad averaged career-highs of 13.7 ppg and 6.4 rpg this year. A three-year starter, he scored 28 points in his final college game, a playoff loss at Wilberforce, to finish with 1,002 career points.

Heatherington’s 24.5 ppg scoring average was the fourth-highest single-season average in school history. Only legendary small college scorers Kenny Walls (27.4 in ’93-94 and 25.8 ppg in ’94-95) and Damon Wade (25.6 in ’95-96) scored higher in a season at Point Park.

Heatherington did a lot of damage at the foul line. He made a school-record 216 fouls shots and attempted a school-record 257 free throws this year. He eclipsed the marks of 214 makes and 245 attempts set by Walls in 1993-94. His 21 free throws in 24 attempts versus Roberts Wesleyan Feb. 11 set a school record for makes in a game and tied Walls for attempts in a game.

Heatherington ended the year with 1,167 career points, and he stands 11th on the school’s all-time scoring list. His 352 career assists rank eighth in school history. His 343 free throws made are third all-time. Heatherington’s career averages are 18.8 ppg and 5.7 apg.

Alexander was third on the Point Park team in scoring, a squad that led the NAIA Division II in scoring at 88.6 ppg. For his career, he averaged 9.9 ppg and 4.5 rpg. His 54-percent career field-goal percentage is sixth-best in school history. He is the 18th player in school history with 1,000 career points.

Also on the All-AMC First Team are Dom Mazzocchi (Daemen), Ron Kinney (Walsh), Alif Bland (Roberts Wesleyan) and Darius Foster (Wilberforce). The All-AMC Second Team consists of Dennis Norford (Fisher), Michael Munoz (Houghton), Jim Regan (Daemen), Ronald Hightower (Wilberforce) and Chris Olafioye (Wilberforce). Wilberforce’s Terry Futrell was AMC Coach of the Year, and Houghton’s Chris Confair the AMC Newcomer of the Year.

Follow us on Twitter @PointParkSports and Facebook.com/PointParkAthletics